Just a few weeks ago, the American Dialect Society named "subprime" the word of the year for 2007. The year before, it was "plutoed," and before, that it was "truthiness." Each year, scholars, linguists and lexicographers decide which new words should be formally entered into our dictionaries, or at least what words should be deigned mainstream enough to have formal...

As the sun dips behind the Ramat Naftali Mountain range, beginning to draw with it what's left of the light in the Upper Galilee, we set off to see the cranes. Our group, mostly journalists from around the world, are being led out into the middle of the broad Hula Valley by the steady pull of a battered old tractor...

With gas prices at the pump out of sight, with a housing slump and a rising number of foreclosures, with economic growth slowed, unemployment heading upwards, and the "R" word on the lips of many -- well, some worry may be warranted. But Philadelphians go overboard in pessimism, it appears. They seem to echo poet Robert Lowell, who once said,...

Stacey Cohen is a billionaire. She's also a philanthropist, lifestyle guru, actress and author. And while her charities are uppermost in her mind, she notes that just as a business venture seeks return on an investment, philanthropy does to. "You want to make sure society benefits," says Cohen, who believes that her giving "makes her feel wealthy in her heart."...

Like pulling together the right wardrobe, having that perfect hairdo and enjoying terrific glowing skin, getting your nails done is an integral part of making yourself look your best for that upcoming wedding or Bar Mitzvah. "Often, because of such upcoming events, I hear women tell me they wanted to look so glamorous, they even had acrylic nails put on...